The number of engineering contractors working on railway services has shot up as a result of Government investment in projects such as Crossrail.

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Results from survey of by umbrella employment provider, giant group, show that 16 per cent of engineering professionals have reported working on rail service projects in the past year. This is up significantly from just one per cent in 2013, and two per cent in 2012, indicating the impact that Government investment in infrastructure has had on the contracting market.

This is further supported by the latest trends report from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) which found that engineering contracting opportunities have risen by 22 per cent year-on-year and 5.2 per cent in the last month alone.

The ongoing construction of Crossrail has led to an enormous increase in opportunities available for contractors and this is set to continue with other projects such as HS2 and the expansion of Heathrow Airport being lined up.

Other results from the survey highlight the optimism currently being shown in the market. Currently 57 per cent of contractors are expecting a rate increase in the next year, up two per cent on statistics from 2013. Only eight per cent of contractors are expecting their pay to decrease over the next 12 months.

Matthew Brown, Managing Director of giant group said: “The results from our latest survey highlight the impact infrastructure investment has had on the contracting market. And the good news is this should be sustainable in the longer term. At the moment the main demand is coming from the Crossrail project, however there’s also the planned development of HS2 and the proposed expansion of Heathrow Airport in the pipeline.

"This means opportunities should be abundant for engineering contractors for the foreseeable future.”